Offer rejected, should I put in a higher offer?

kookamunga

I put in an offer on a property the other week and it was rejected. The seller took 8 days to mull it over and finally say no. The estate agent said she was on the fence but that the offer was just not going to work for the seller. The property has been on the market for 6 months, it had a previous offer of £660k and I was told it fell through because the timings weren’t going to work for one of the parties. My husband and I put in an offer of £640k, this is the max our mortgage broker said we can get. I was thinking of going back and saying we could offer £10k in “white goods” even though we wouldn’t really get more than an old fridge and freezer. We were going to use that money to renovate since the property needs updating, but we can delay renovations if need be and it helps get the seller over the edge. She was clearly considering £640k since it took over a week for her to finally decide! Does anyone have any ideas on how my husband and I could sweeten the deal to get the buyer over the edge to accept? We sent a “love letter” with our offer and even that didn’t seem to help. We are chain free, we have sold and bought 2 properties before and so we know what we are doing and we don’t want to jerk anyone around through the process, we just want a quick and clean sale as much as feasibly possible! I hate buying in London, people just want money and don’t consider that we aren’t first time buyers and that we could if we wanted to really be a pain, but we have seen the trials and tribulations of going through the buying and selling process and we just want to make it as easy as possible for all involved. Isn’t that in and of itself worth while even if we can’t “meet the buyer where she wants?”

MattMattMattUK

kookamunga said:

I put in an offer on a property the other week and it was rejected. The seller took 8 days to mull it over and finally say no. The estate agent said she was on the fence but that the offer was just not going to work for the seller. The property has been on the market for 6 months, it had a previous offer of £660k and I was told it fell through because the timings weren’t going to work for one of the parties. My husband and I put in an offer of £640k, this is the max our mortgage broker said we can get. I was thinking of going back and saying we could offer £10k in “white goods” even though we wouldn’t really get more than an old fridge and freezer. We were going to use that money to renovate since the property needs updating, but we can delay renovations if need be and it helps get the seller over the edge. She was clearly considering £640k since it took over a week for her to finally decide! Does anyone have any ideas on how my husband and I could sweeten the deal to get the buyer over the edge to accept? We sent a “love letter” with our offer and even that didn’t seem to help. We are chain free, we have sold and bought 2 properties before and so we know what we are doing and we don’t want to jerk anyone around through the process, we just want a quick and clean sale as much as feasibly possible! I hate buying in London, people just want money and don’t consider that we aren’t first time buyers and that we could if we wanted to really be a pain, but we have seen the trials and tribulations of going through the buying and selling process and we just want to make it as easy as possible for all involved. Isn’t that in and of itself worth while even if we can’t “meet the buyer where she wants?”

No one cares about a "love letter", if anything it probably indicates that you can be screwed foe more money, it is certainly not beneficial to your offer. Six months and not sold indicates it is overpriced. Reply back to the estate agent and say OK, that was your limit, then walk away. The seller may then come to their senses and realise that the6 can wait another six months and have to lower the price even further to sell, or they can take what would appear a reasonable offer (6% below asking is not unreasonable in thr current market with a house unsold for 6+ months). Start looking for other properties. 

Wyndham

Has the seller come back with a counter offer? That would at least give you an idea of how close your first offer was for them. At the moment you don't know what they will accept - the other sale could have fallen through for many reasons, one of which was to do with the mortgage/price.

chrisw

Instead of offering £10k for 'white goods', why not just up the offer to £650k? Or £645k if you think they're close to agreeing.

Albermarle

You are already pushing it with a max mortgage offer and only £10K for renovations.
What happens if issues crop up in a survey or later?
Personally I would be very uncomfortable with so little in reserve.

 I hate buying in London, people just want money 
I do not really think it is any different in other parts of the UK

eddddy

kookamunga said:

My husband and I put in an offer of £640k, this is the max our mortgage broker said we can get. I was thinking of going back and saying we could offer £10k in “white goods” even though we wouldn’t really get more than an old fridge and freezer. We were going to use that money to renovate since the property needs updating...

I think you misunderstood the conversation with your broker.

If you have an extra £10k in savings, you can increase your offer by £10k to £650k, if you want.

RHemmings

It seems to me to be a bit unusual to offer £10k for an old fridge and freezer. And, this on top of a 'love letter'. Personally if I was you I'd keep it simple and straightforward. Do you want the property for £645k or £650k? And can you afford it (holding back money for renovations etc.)? If so, just offer it. 

Smalltownhypocrite

people just want money and don’t consider that we aren’t first time buyers and that we could if we wanted to really be a pain, but we have seen the trials and tribulations of going through the buying and selling process and we just want to make it as easy as possible for all involved. Isn’t that in and of itself worth while even if we can’t “meet the buyer where she wants?

I don't understand this. Not being a ftb is not a benefit, you can still be a PITA and honestly you are clearly not dripping with experience as you are doing some very odd things.

The seller clearly needs a certain amount, less it not worth anything. No one is going to go through the hassle of selling and moving unnecessarily if its not for what they want. They don't NEED to sell, you are the one that wants what they have but they have it regardless of if they sell what they need is 'x amount of money' to move on. If they don't get that they can happily live in their house forever and lost nothing. Being on market for 6 months does not entitle anyone to buy something cheaper.

You offering a smooth transaction means nothing, you cannot guarantee that and moving just hassle for them in general so the only thing that matters is the money amount.

Tabieth

How much do you love the house? How much renovation does it need? Can you afford to pay more for it? 

I wouldn’t bother with the white goods strategy. Keep it simple and, if you really want the house, offer more and see what happens. Unfortunately the love letter probably hasn’t helped you as it tips the seller that you are really keen. I’d be tempted to leave the offer on the table and keep looking. 

Bigphil1474

OP, you should speak to the EA. If they took 8 days mulling over your offer before rejecting it, then they should have come back with a counter. To not to do so seems very odd. If you've reached your max, don't risk over stretching yourself IMO. We nearly did that last year, and so glad we didn't.

bobster2

kookamunga said:

 I hate buying in London, people just want money and don’t consider that we aren’t first time buyers and that we could if we wanted to really be a pain, but we have seen the trials and tribulations of going through the buying and selling process and we just want to make it as easy as possible for all involved. Isn’t that in and of itself worth while even if we can’t “meet the buyer where she wants?”

And the seller is meant to know that you're not going to mess them around because you wrote a "love letter"???

It's very simple - the seller wants to achieve a higher price than you are willing to pay for this property. Neither of you are wrong - just have a different price in mind. If nobody is willing to budge - then seller may need to find a different buyer and you may need to find a different property.